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New space, new respect, new year for Fitchburg charter school

Teachers, students at Sizer School excited at possibilities in new building

By Alana Melanson, amelanson@sentinelandenterprise.com

Updated:
08/24/2014 02:02:21 PM EDT

Janitors clean the floors in the lobby of the new Sizer School, a North Central Charter Essential School at 500 Rindge Road in Fitchburg, on Thursday. Students will get their first look at the recently finished building on the first day of school next Friday.
SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE

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FITCHBURG -- The new Sizer School building wasn't big enough to contain the excitement of everyone working there last Thursday.

The feeling emanated through every room and hallway as staff and student volunteers prepared for the upcoming start of the new school year, which they'll begin this week, finally in their own, permanent home.

It was also immediately evident on the face of Executive Director Stephanie Davolos, a pep in her step as she walked around the school, pointing out details such as the pendulum lights in the atrium lobby and seemingly endless storage space in the science labs and art room.

"The little details are just -- they're going to elevate all of us," Davolos said. "Just being in this space, with the beautiful attention to detail that went into the building, it forces respect. It imbues it. It makes you want to be a better person. You want to be more professional. It's a serious space that just is going to generate all kinds of respect for the work and the persons within it."

After the long journey of dashed plans for permanent places and moves to temporary locations, it's no wonder Davolos, her staff and the charter school students are excited about the space, which was built for them free by a generous private donor.

"We envision having this space where we do student exhibitions of work, events in here, big circle meetings," she said as she walked through the atrium, calling it the hub of the school.

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"I can see choral concerts here, students singing from the balconies. I really think we're going to build a tremendous community here."

The school has three floors of classrooms, with seventh and eighth grade on the first floor, ninth and 10th on the second, and 11th and 12th on the third. The approximately 30 classrooms can each fit 16 to 20 students comfortably, with standard classrooms 550 square feet and six science labs measuring 750 square feet.

Each classroom has an American flag, interactive wall-mounted short-throw projectors that are synched up with classroom computers, and a purple teaching wall.

"The architects chose this color because it is conducive to learning," Davolos said. "Research has shown that purples and pinks really soothe and open the brain."

When North Central Charter Essential School was first founded, she said, the original school colors were purple and white, but the purple was later changed to blue. The new logo, a purple and blue blooming plant, is a blending of the new and the old, and "it really speaks to our students' ability to learn and grow," Davolos said.

All of the science labs also have pull-down cords, so students can plug in electric microscopes or power tools, such as in engineering class.

"My goal is to have students think and be in practice as scientists, and I think that that space allows them to really embody that and to do that," Cynar said. "Finally we have the space to match the technology we have."

She's excited to finally have running water in her lab space, as well as an outside space that can be used as an outdoor ecology classroom.

"I'm just so grateful that our students are finally able to have facilities and the technology that they really need and deserve to learn and to be college and career ready," said 10th-grade English teacher Sherri Milkowski.

"It's amazing," said history teacher Pam Sweeney. "The technology is incredible, the space is wonderful. I'm just sort of overwhelmed."

She laughed at her own nerdiness as she recalled her amazement last week as the motion-sensor lights turned on as she walked up the main front stairs for the first time.

"I really love the way we brought in some of the stuff and colors from Oak Hill Road," Sweeney said, referring to the location the school was housed at longest. "The blue lockers, the purple tiles on the floor -- things that sort of make it feel like home."

"It's just the most amazing gift, the fact that somebody would give our school this," said middle school Principal Carey Doucette. "Everybody who walks through the building just is in awe and their spirits are lifted and they just feel like, 'I have this place where I can really learn and do the things I want to do.' It's awesome."

The art room is double the space the school previously had, and has a dedicated kiln room. Cabinets line the walls and there's another, separate storage room for supplies. But what's most exciting are the four sinks, Davolos said, and the fact that students will no longer have to carry their brushes to the bathroom to clean them.

Nearby, there's a weight room and yoga studio overlooking the gym, which has a rubberized floor and a screen that can divide space to have side-by-side games.

In addition to two computer labs and four laptop carts, the library has a cyber cafe where students can do work and conduct research.

Davolos pointed out a small room adjacent to the library, where a literacy specialist will conduct small group instruction in specific literacy skills.

"One of the things we found to be really instrumental in student success in catching up and closing the achievement gap, when kids come into middle school below grade level in reading, we need to make a plan that they can access the material," she said. "We do that in safe, small group reading classes."

There is a performing arts room on the first floor, connected with a storage room that connects to a stage at the back of the cafeteria, complete with four rows of lighting, a projector and a sound system.

Acoustical tiles line the walls of the gym and other noisy rooms like the cafeteria to contain sounds.

There's also plenty of office and meeting spaces for staff with their own designated areas.

The school is also at capacity at 395 students this year, compared to 319 last year.

While there is little space on the grounds for sports, the school has a partnership with Saima Park to use the fields there for the athletic program.

Bob Briggs, the new facilities director, said the building is highly energy efficient and has security cameras for student safety.

"We went with LED lighting everywhere, almost," he said. "Practically all the lights are on motion sensors, too."

The building also has high-efficiency boilers and a dehumidification system.

"There's a ton of fresh air being blown into the building and filtered and dehumidified in order to create a very comfortable climate within the space," Davolos said.

Students who were at the building Thursday shared their amazement at their new school.

"I can't believe it," said student ambassador Julie Gambill, 16, of Winchendon, an 11th-grader. "I've been here quite a few weeks now, and it still takes my breath away when I walk in the doors."

She pointed out the decorative tiles in the bathrooms that were imported from Italy.

"The instructions were spare no expenses, because if you have the highest standards for yourself and the building, then the kids who go to school here will have the highest expectations for themselves," Gambill said.

Sophomore Nick Kenny, 15, of Fitchburg, said he loves the modern look of the new school and its lobby with curving stairs.

"This doesn't even look like a school, it's so amazing," he said.

Eighth-grader Maya Flowers, 13, of Lunenburg, said she likes the workout room over the gym.

"I think it's amazing, especially after what we had at the last building," she said. "It was so cramped, we were on top of each other."

While school doesn't officially start at Sizer until Friday, families will meet with student advisers Thursday. There is also an ice-cream social scheduled for Monday at 11 a.m., when most students and families will see the inside of the new building for the first time.

Follow Alana Melanson at facebook.com/ alanasentinel or on Twitter @alanamelanson.

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